The invention relates to a safety attachment for utility pole transport. More particularly, the invention relates to a safety attachment which attaches to the proximal end of a utility pole, while it is being transported, to minimize injuries if a vehicle is to collide with the pole.
Public utilities are companies that provide essential services to the public, namely firms that offer electricity, natural gas, telephone, telegraph, water, and sewage services. Electric, telephone and logging companies, in particular, utilize elongated vertical poles that are situated in order to provide services to consumers. These poles are circular wooden structures that are driven vertically into the ground to support wires at elevated heights.
The poles are typically transported to the desired location on a utility wagon that is towed by a truck. Because of the length of said pole, although a large portion of the pole is supported upon the wagon, the remainder is often left to extend unsupported past the rear of the wagon.
While there is little fear that the pole will become dislodged during transport, the potential damage that may be caused to others in the case of an accident is substantial. Because of the positioning of the pole on the wagon, if another vehicle were to collide into the rear of said wagon, the portion of the pole extending outward therefrom could penetrate the windshield of the automobile, injuring or killing the driver and occupants.
Thus, in order to prevent injuries and deaths from occurring in this manner, the safety attachment for utility pole transport provides a casing that attaches to the middle of the pole and reaches to the end of same. This casing provides a flat portion that extends downward from the blunt edge surface of the pole. This construction is designed to minimize harm to a driver of a vehicle in the event of a rear end collision with the utility wagon carrying the pole.
While other units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.
In this respect, the safety attachment for a utility pole substantially departs.from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of minimizing injury in the event of an accident.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved safety attachment for a utility pole which can be used when transporting said poles on a flatbed truck. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
It is an object of the invention to produce a safety attachment for utility pole transport that, when secured to a pole, would minimize injury to a driver or occupants of another vehicle in the event of a rear end collision.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a plurality of support members that are connected in a triangular configuration, creating a casing. This casing is secured around a center portion of the pole and extends diagonally to an impact beam immediately below the rear end of said pole. Additional members then extend upward and are attached to the end of the pole. The impact beam joins all members and serves to help distribute impact forces.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention in not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set froth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved safety attachment for utility pole transport which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved safety attachment for utility pole transport which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved safety attachment for utility pole. transport which is of durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved safety attachment for utility pole transport which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the target utility companies, thereby making such safety attachment economically available.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects the invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the invention, limited only by the scope of the claims.